What to do???

I am wrestling with myself over what to do next........ Do i finish my project car that i've been working on, and off, and back on again for the last too many years? It's a 1985 VW Golf GTI 8v. Or do i put that project to bed and start with a newer vehicle and tune it as time goes on? I am a Porschephile at heart and have wanted a 911 since as far back as i can recall... Maybe it's time to start in that direction.......? I know it's a pretty open ended and wide topic but i'd much appreciate some insight from my fellow gearheads... A new Civic Si, Subaru WRX or Mazdaspeed 3 have all peaked my interest as well... Stop my head from spinning!!! I need some direction.....please...

Thanks..........

I think if you are having trouble compleating a Golf, jumping into a 911 might be dangerous, unless you get one that is already well sorted. As for the new cars, the MS3 seams to be the prefered model, unless you really want AWD.

Welcome and remember that the answer is almost always Miata

I really haven't had trouble completing the Golf, other than time.. I've rebuilt the engine, suspension, fuel system and brakes....but the body work is my nemesis... Not my area of expertise....

Part the old project out, learn from your mistakes (ie, stay away from rough bodies) and move on.

Yeah, either part the golf out, or finish it and sell it so you can us the $$$ to get something else.

Or just finish and enjoy the project that you have wrked so hard on.

You might want to finish it. You could get that 911 and realize you lose interest in that too!

I'm not saying that will happen, but just spend some time thinking about it.

All i do is think about it.... Will get outside and work some on the Golf today to get the fingers dirty and the knuckles bloody.... I am leaning towards finishing it off and enjoying the fruits of my labour.... At least once it's done it'll owe me nothing and i won't owe any money on it.... Maybe then i'll indulge on the next car.......

A lot of us in the VW community believe the A2 is the one to have..the A1s are a little primitive to live in on a daily basis, and the later ones just got fat & complicated. If you get it finished & don't like it, you probably won't have much problem getting rid of it. Even if the body's too rough to save, someone would probably take it for a parts car (although it would bother me to see something somebody's worked so hard on being taken apart).

A2s are treated as disposeable by quite a large portion of the people that own them, and i think in a few years there wont be a ton of them left. I also think (at least for me), that if you buy an old car and use it for a while, unless it gets wrecked, or was unrepairable when you bought it, you should sell it in a better condition than when you bought it if possible. Id never buy a car and drive it for a while, then part it out and cut up the shell becasue i got tired of it. Someone i know started driving a 96 gti, totalled that, bought a 16v scirocco, drove it for a year, decided it was too heavy, parted it out and cut it up and used a few of the parts (along with 10k+ worth of new stuff) to build a 78 scirocco trackday car, bought a prefectly good 75 scirocco and scrapped it with the title from the 78 to avoid having to smog it, bought a audi 90 and ruined it driving offroad and sent it to pick and pull, then got an an accident on the street with the scirocco and parted that one out and scrapped it, then bought another audi which had i think survived so far. Thats a real waste of cars other people would like owning though.

lokigti, I've been in your position before. I've found, from experience, that the thing to do is to finish the car.

Shopping the body and paintwork out to a professional shop is far cheaper than buying a different car, particularly a new car.

I don't know about you, but if I put countless hours of my own labor into a project, no matter how tired I am of thinking about it, I just can't bring myself to undo what I've already done and part it out.

If, once it's painted and pretty, you don't fall back in love with it (as I always do when my projects come back shiny), then you can at the very least get a whole lot more for it when it's shiny and pretty than you can now with it mechanically excellent but cosmetically challenged.

Thanks !! I totally agree with you... I have put blood sweat and tears into this car and parting it out would be tha last resort... I'll get back on track with the GTI and post pics as i go, to let you all see whats up. Better get it done before the cold weather hits...nothing sucks more than working on a car in a non-insulated garage in the dead of winter.......except for not having the garage to work in. But i've done that too....ever worked under a car while laying in snow???? I can tell you first hand, IT SUCKS!! Thanks for all your advice......

Travis_K wrote: A2s are treated as disposeable by quite a large portion of the people that own them, and i think in a few years there wont be a ton of them left.

Travis, this is already happening. A lot of the 2nd & 3rd owners of these cars bought them from the grannys & granpas that just drove VWs because they were economical. They then stuffed about two tons of engine swaps, furry interiors & stereo equipment into them. Now that they need cash to go to college, they part the things out for the money. Tubs are being crushed.

Travis_K wrote: I also think (at least for me), that if you buy an old car and use it for a while, unless it gets wrecked, or was unrepairable when you bought it, you should sell it in a better condition than when you bought it if possible. Id never buy a car and drive it for a while, then part it out and cut up the shell becasue i got tired of it. Someone i know started driving a 96 gti, totalled that, bought a 16v scirocco, drove it for a year, decided it was too heavy, parted it out and cut it up and used a few of the parts (along with 10k+ worth of new stuff) to build a 78 scirocco trackday car, bought a prefectly good 75 scirocco and scrapped it with the title from the 78 to avoid having to smog it, bought a audi 90 and ruined it driving offroad and sent it to pick and pull, then got an an accident on the street with the scirocco and parted that one out and scrapped it, then bought another audi which had i think survived so far. Thats a real waste of cars other people would like owning though.

I've seen folks like that as well. I'm kind of angry at them, because it's probably the reason I'll never find a good A1 chassis Scirocco.

In reply to M030:

Thanks for the advice..... I know what you say will happen.. Glad someone could open my eyes to reality once again... Time to get out into the garage and bring her to life... A few parts to get for the interior, and a good line on a body guy that is willing to do the work outside of work....saving me $$$. Always a good thing... Now if i can only decide on the colour and paint scheme... My creativity seems to change like the weather... LOL.

Thanks again........... Cheers!